


Heaven is you and me

by kawde



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-27 04:18:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13872960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kawde/pseuds/kawde
Summary: He is not her boyfriend and she is not his girlfriend. They’re something more to each other. Maybe, together, they are one and only soul.





	Heaven is you and me

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to all the new amazing writers who have provided excellent content these past weeks. I love each new fic so much, they’re all so good! 
> 
> This one is kind of a big mess, I’m afraid. I thought about cutting it in a few chapters but I’m a sucker for long one shots so here we go. Hope the story makes sense. 
> 
> Title is inspired by the song “Heaven” by One Republic. 
> 
> I apologize for any grammar mistakes in advance - English is not my first language.

Her sight is on him the second the two words make their appearance again. 

_Business partners._

Scott feels her tense next to him on the NBC set, and tries to catch her eyes with his to let her know how much he hates this too. Tessa doesn’t turn to him the rest of the interview.

He doesn’t know why they put ´business partners’ in the list of words acceptable to give the media. Mostly, he doesn’t understand why he keeps using it when he feels his stomach twisting and his throat clenching whenever his mouth lets out the words.  
But that’s what they agreed on, after all. Deny, deny, deny.

Frankly, he doesn’t even know what they’re denying anymore.

-

Tessa is far from being stupid.

She knows and recognizes the looks he gets from other women. His incredibly funny display of patriotism at the hockey game made her laugh and realize how unique Scott really is.

( _How much she longs for his goofy smile when they’re appart for a few hours._ )

His return to Canada House - not drunk but very loud- is acclaimed and celebrated like the new national hero he seems to be. He takes selfies after selfies with everyone around him and receives a few sloppy cheek kisses from gorgeous female athletes and family members. Tessa thinks she sees a few very low hand placements on his back. It’s painful because it reminds her of them four years ago. But she knows that their situation is so _so_ different now, and a few girls flirting with him should not be an issue anymore. Not since they had The Talk and she’d heard him whisper into her neck one night how much he wants a life with her.

-

_“When the room don’t like us_  
_I’ll be at your table_  
Yeah I’ll be sitting next to you  
And when the world ain’t righteous  
It’s raining Cain and Abels  
I’ll be trying to dance with you”

-

“You seem distant” Scott says to her seconds before they’re supposed to enter Canada House during the ‘medallists presentation night’.

“I’m not” she plants the top of her sneaker on the floor and looks at her foot twirling.

They’re the last ones to come out of the makeshift backstage so he takes advantage of the situation and grabs her face in between his hands. Tugs her roughly to himself as their lips find each other in a display of relieved sighs. _Finally_.

He comes out as his name is being called and turns to her for a coordinated wave towards the crowd of plaid-wearing supporters and teammates. Tessa is not next to him so he takes a look behind the wall and fumbles for her arm to grasp. As she steps into the bright lights he sees one small tear roll down her cheek before Tessa puts on her best fake smile to the cameras.

 

It’s later on in the evening - almost night - after he’s thrown a microphone into a plastic glass full of beer and Tessa has outdanced the whole house with her adorably sexy moves on stage with the band. Scott feels way too old for this kind of party but he can admit it was lit.

( _He heard the 20 year-olds from the snowboarding team say it_.)

He scans the buzzed crowd with squinted eyes in search of his partner and asks a few people if they happen to have seen Tess. Mikael finds her first and waves energetically to her from the other side of the room while grasping Scott’s shoulder.

“Là bas!” the skier mumbles in French.

“Ya, thanks buddy” Scott taps his shoulder and walks towards the brunette sitting on a cosy window seat, a bit removed from the party. She seems absorbed in her phone and doesn’t see him until she feels his solid hand on her knee.

“Oh. Hi” her smile is unconvincing.

“Hi you” Scott presses his forehead to hers and pushes the phone away from her small fingers. “Are you tired yet? Because I am.” Tessa nods.

“Let’s go to your room ‘kay?” He presses a sloppy kiss on her jaw, and it’s not quick and definitely not careful like they agreed to act like these two weeks. Tessa closes her eyes to avoid snapping at him as his mouth seems to slide towards her collarbone. She grabs a tuft of his curly hair at the top of his neck and lightly pushes his mouth away from her. Scott - and his lack of sleep in the past two nights- doesn’t understand the same thing , and pulls her to his lap.

«  No Scott, stop. » she breathes out and it’s enough for him to stop whatever he is doing to the exposed skin above the neckline of her black shirt.  
« What’s wrong » he searches for an immediate answer in her eyes. Tessa averts her eyes and slides off his lap. She doesn’t say a word.

« I asked you what’s wrong Tess” He seems frustrated and about to snap.

“We don’t know who’s watching and we said we’d be careful.” she whispers as they enter an intense staring competition. “There’s so much people here and you’ve had a few.” “I’m not drunk Tessa.” “...a few beers. I know you’re not. You’re just letting loose and I don’t want people to see it.”

Scott stares at her like she’s suddenly become an alien. “Letting loose? What are you even talking about?”

He admits it - he is frustrated. A bad cold has been spreading around the village like the plague and he caught it a few days ago. He’s exhausted and hyper at the same time: climbed a pole because he thought it was hilarious and then fell asleep in the middle of karaoke last night. Mostly, he’s frustrated with the lack of physical and emotional contact between them since the end of the medal ceremony. He’s tried so hard to make her forget about their agreement when inside of the village and out of the media and public eye. For some unknown reason to him, it’s not happening. Tessa insists on being seen in different places and hasn’t taken up his offer of moving to another room, left empty after a ski racer left Korea early. A room so they could be alone _together_ , at least for a few precious hours a day.

She sighs and runs her hand down his arm- too quickly for his liking. “You know what we said before leaving, Scott.”

“I do. That we’d be careful with the media because we’re setting our own pace. But Tessa, I don’t remember us saying we would ignore each other and lie to our own parents?” His voice has gone up but ends up soft and low at the mention of their families.

“I’m not ignoring you” she looks genuinely offended. “Oh yeah, yeah you are.” He scoffs childishly.

He almost launches into a monologue, recounting the past couple days where she’s fled away from his touch ( _she bats his fingers away at the men’s bronze medal hockey game when he tries to slide them across her thigh. They don’t kiss when they see each other at breakfast, not even on the cheek. She gets out of his arms before he even gets the chance to press a tender kiss to her temple at the post medals party_.) but he figures it won’t get them anywhere in the argument.

“Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong for you to,” His voice is so soft and Tessa loves his voice so much but she has to cut him off.

“You did nothing wrong Scott. Don’t worry too much.” She shrugs and smiles what she hopes is a big enough smile.

He knows what that smile is. He knows the meanings behind every one of them. This one is a _We’ll talk when everything will be calm again okay?_

  
She retreats back to her room - alone- after Kaitlyn told Tessa no to expect her for the night because she’s matched on Tinder with this “super hot Italian”.

( _Thoughts of Scott being on the dating app makes her physically sick_ )

She flops down on her bed and feels the tears burning her eyes when a soft beige comforter envelops her body. It’s her favourite because it makes her instantly fall asleep. It’s also one he bought for her last year - an incredibly expensive one because of the material (cashmere and wool _and who would’ve thought that Scott was the kind of guy to spend 3 hours at a luxury home department store, fretting over what kind of blanket to offer her_ ) She remembers covering his face in kisses to thank him. He had said “so you don’t miss me too much when I’m away and we can’t cuddle.” He was right, when he had been absent from Montreal for a few days, the thin blanket had served its purpose dutifully. She even stuffed it in her skating bag one lonely morning and covered herself with it during her nap in the rink’s cafeteria.

Her phone vibrates against the fake wood of her nightstand.  

 

‘Did u make it back alright? Let me know pls’

God. It’s so silly - she thinks- that even a little text from him makes her heart beat faster. Even after so many years.

‘Yes, in bed already. Have fun with the guys’

Scott’s supposed to hit someplace in town later on in the night. She hopes he’s not too tired for the gala tomorrow.

 

Tessa is deeply asleep when he swipes his emergency key card into the door slot and enters the girls’ apartment. Scott leaves his shoes in the hallway and very quietly tip toes to the dimly lit bedroom where he finds her sleeping on what he knows is “her” side, leaving “his” empty and cold. It’s tempting, very tempting, to take off his jeans and sweater and slip under the covers. At home, when one of them is unable to sleep, they have a habit of taking the stairs to the other’s appartement in a search for warmth and maybe, probably, love.

This time, he only takes a look at his partner of two decades, his literal lifeline. The woman he works hard for being worthy enough to have by his side forever. Scott very gently places a trembling finger to her forehead as if to reassure himself that she is fine and warm in bed, whispers a goodnight wish and stands up from his crouching position next to her head.

His feet are about to touch the cold floor of the hallway when he hears her shift between the sheets and call his name.

_Shit. She’s gonna kill me. 3 am. Crap. Breathe. Do I smell like beer?_

He turns around because he doesn’t want her to suddenly think he’s a burglar or a lost drunk.

“Yeah, yeah it’s me. Sorry. I just wanted to check up on you.” His gaze shifts to the splendid woman in the bed. Tessa’s changed her position and is now propped up on her elbows, hair falling in front her sleep-filled eyes. He gulps hard at the sight of a piece of lace peeking out from under her sleeping top.

They look at each other for long minutes and Scott doesn’t know if the silence is awkward or not. He can’t really see Tessa’s eyes so she might have fallen asleep because she hasn’t said a word and her breathing is quiet. He starts to move his feet and he tucks his hands in his pockets, clears his throat.

“I’m going to go.”

“Do you want to stay?”

They say it at the same time but instead of giggling like a schoolboy who talks to his crush for the first time, his jaw clenches and he sighs the kind of sigh that no man ever makes when a woman asks if he wants to stay in her bed for the night. But that is exactly why Scott reacts that way - frustrated and impatient. Because Tessa is not just any woman who asked him to stay in her bed and he’s not a random guy who thinks he is about to get lucky. They’re _together_ , whatever that means, but they are and they agreed on this a year ago. There’s a spoken agreement between them that after 21 years, _finally_ , they get to belong to each other.

“Are you seriously asking me that question Tessa? Because that’s....” He doesn’t get to finish because she is laying back in bed, suddenly looking like a little girl. A scared little girl.

“Do you want me to stay Tess?” Scott is scared for half a second that she might say no and show him the door.

He hears a little ‘yes’ from the direction of the bed and nods her way. “Okay” Scott whispers and goes to leave his phone and coat on the desk. A pair of black jeans, socks, sweater and t-shirt join the pile of the girl’s stuff already splattered across the room. When he turns around, he is happy to report that she is holding the covers open for him. Progress.

Slipping his body next to hers on a mattress is a feeling he’s been denied for a few weeks now. “Fucking finally” he lets out accidentally. Tessa slides one finger to his arm and _tap tap tap_. Scott relaxes and pulls the cover and blanket above their heads, leaving them in a bubble of peace.

“Can’t wait for Kaitlyn to see my clothes on the floor in the morning” he chuckles as his hands fumble for her tiny waist to hold closer.

“She won’t.” Tessa yawns.” She’s spending the night at the Italian house. Tinder date.” Her lips brush against his shoulder. Scott whistles.

“Remember when we were so sure her and Andrew were a thing? Turns out they just share a place because it’s practical.” Tessa just nods and then lifts her eyes to his. “Should we also share a place for practicality?”

They both giggle like teenagers this time. Mostly because this conversation is nothing new. Their foreheads press together. Scott is certain that no one in the whole world could ever possibly understand the bond between them. That two-decades long push and pull, the inevitable slip-ups, the pain of seeing the other in someone else’s arms. What they have is far from being an epic romantic story - but they will cherish it until the end of time. Whatever they decide to do.

They’re both about to fall asleep when Tessa presses her lips to his ear and whispers a quiet apology “for today, and the days before. You know I’m not comfortable with selling our, uhm, relationship. I’m still learning to be with you like that in public. It’s hard.” He nods against her cheek and holds her tighter.

At least they have tonight.

 

-

They stay in bed a bit longer than necessary in the morning and talk about how much hiding from their families is hard and painful. They don’t deserve to be left in the dark. However, the mutual consensus is that they need to plan out the remaining of the year and sit down to figure out where they stand as a couple before mentioning anything to their parents. Scott hates it even more since everyone in his close circle of friends seems to have abandoned the idea of him and Tessa being a real life couple. A few hours later, out on a last dinner in South Korea with his brothers and parents, he delights in the smell of the bibimbap in front of him when his mom breaks down in tears. She sets her eyes in his and almost threatens to dishonour him if he doesn’t keep in touch with Tessa in the coming years. Scott honestly feels like crap.

It’s a close call again when his brothers help him pack in his room. All three of them are on their knees looking for a lost shirt and a pair of jeans that he swears he saw yesterday when Scott’s hand gets tangled in a scrappy, lace material. Takes a quick look at it: baby pink. His brain freezes and he’s almost about to reveal it all to the two guys he’s looked up to his entire life. “ _Hey, funny thing eh? I just found Tessa’s bra under the bed. Yeah I know, out of my league and all but she’s kind of clingy and I’m even clingier so there’s that and she probably has my shirt that we’re looking for by the way_.”

Scott sighs and stuffs it in his skating bag.

  
Their Air Canada flight - packed with athletes flying back to Toronto- is just over the Pacific Ocean when the movie they are watching together ends. Scott throws their earphones to the plane ground and toes off his shoes, ready to snuggle closer to his partner for a nap. They’re both sick now, of course, and his head is killing him. He sees Tessa drink an entire bottle of water while pressing a hand to her forehead. “I hate this flight already” she mumbles and then presses closer to his warm chest. His natural response is to envelop her is his arms and press small kisses to her ear. He switches the light off above their heads for privacy and she chuckles.

“Don’t push it babe”. He has to laugh- it’s a nickname she’s never used before on anyone. Tessa never actually liked them until he started throwing in some from time to time. It’s usually ‘baby’ or ‘babe’ though - Scott says ‘honey’ will make its appearance when he will hit 40 years old and then proceeds to have an anxiety attack when she reminds him that it is only 9 years from now. Scott remembers actually being nervous the first time he tried calling her ‘baby’. He’s used ‘babe’ with his exes before, but never this.

They were at Walmart, in Montreal, buying baking ustensiles and tools of all sorts because Tessa had decided she wanted to bake heart-shaped cupcakes this weekend and her car was at the garage and _please Scott, it’s not far away and I know for a fact that you have nothing else to do! You get eating rights on 65% of the cupcakes I promise...._ They’re lining up to pay for the few things in the basket and Tessa is glowing with happiness and keeps looking at him like he’s saved her world.

(Them at Walmart arguing about which line is going to move faster is so domestic he wants to pinch himself and never leave the store.)

Tessa turns to him in the line and reaches out for the pink sprinkles in the basket he is holding and shoves them in front of her eyes to examine them more precisely. She’s walking backwards while still looking at them when she just lightly stumbles. Scott, of course, launches forward and secures her with an arm around her waist. “Careful, baby” he whispers and she smiles so widely at him, sprinkles forgotten.

Back in the plane, Tessa also toes off her sneakers and wraps her legs around his under the multiple blankets. “You know, there will be people waiting for us in London” she nudges a piece of hair out of his eyes. “Are you going to let you hair grow long now?” Tessa asks while measuring the current length through her fingers. He smirks “maybe, probably. You like it long uh?”.

She shrugs but he’s almost sure that she is blushing. “I do. But now that I think of it, I don’t know if you should. It’s distracting.” Scott laughs quietly and reaches for her legs to lay on his lap while his head hits her shoulder. ‘Cradling 101’ Eric would say. “I’m letting it grow, don’t worry”. Tessa wants to protest, say that she’s not worrying at all and that it’s his decision only, but she also remembers how pathetically weak she was for him last summer and decides to keep her mouth shut.

“What are you going to do at home?” She asks again a few minutes later in a whispering voice. Everyone around them has fallen asleep.

“Geez, that ginormous coffee you had at the airport was definitely a bad idea” Scott shuffles in his seat and squeezes her thigh. “Probably sleep for two days straight and then see the guys. Spend time with the family before Toronto.” He’s looking at her now. “And before you ask, no, I’m not looking forward to the interviews.”

Tessa wants to ask him so many other questions, wants to know his exact schedule second by second. She craves the idea of knowing him better than she does now - which is already better than anyone else in the world. She wants to know if his aunt will bake him one of her famous cakes; if he knows who is going to be at their homecoming party; does he and his brothers have a golf session planned and if so, can she join them; are they going to sit down for the serious talk soon ?  
She wants to know everything. Yet, Tessa just smiles and closes her eyes.

-

_“Everyone, they say that we don’t work  
But, I could sweat this is heaven”_

  
-

‘I want to tell them T’

His text had waken her up at 1am. It’s now close to 4 and she can’t fall back to sleep. The plan has worked so well in the past year but now, now everyone suspects there is something more than loyal friendship between her and Scott. No one is to blame but them though- Tessa has to admit to that.

She’s known since Thanksgiving that Scott couldn’t contain the secret anymore. He would slip up and start telling the whole table how Tessa once walked to the dep’ for chocolate chips in the middle of the night because she decided to bake cookies for their neighbours’ daughter who was turning three the next day. Or how his shirt turned out blue because he mixed his clothes with her jeans. All intimate information that only a boyfriend is familiar with.

(Though they agree on that - he is not her boyfriend and she is not his girlfriend. They’re something more to each other. Maybe, together, they are one and only soul?)

Tessa is scared to tell him that the thought of telling their families makes her sick. Because what if they are not compatible outside of their skating life and they end up heartbroken? She would lose her best friend and a second family.

~

‘I can see that you read my text you know...We should talk.’

‘Not today, I have the girls over at the house. Tmrrow?’

‘Yes. I’ll pick u up’

~

Tessa smells bacon the moment her eyes open. Her alarm reads 10:23am. She props herself up on her elbows and fumbles for her glasses and phone. There’s a text from her mother, reading that she’s gone for the day and that they will meet up tonight for dinner with Scott’s family.  
She pulls on a hoodie and fuzzy socks but doesn’t bother to put on pants and stays in shorts.

“Hey, breakfast is served. Your timing’s impeccable as always.” Scott is here - in her kitchen. Wearing an apron and gesticulating with the spatula like a clown. “Slept well?” He asks as she sits down on a stool. Tessa frowns.

“What are you doing here?” He stops and looks hurt for a second.  
“I meant - why didn’t you wake me up?” That puts an excited smile on Scott’s face.

“We have a pretty serious day ahead - I just thought I should let you sleep.” He shrugs and places a last pancake on the stack.

“Tada!” He presents her with a beautiful plate in front of her and eagerly waits for her to dig in. “What, you don’t like pancakes now?” He looks genuinely concerned and Tessa thinks she’s about to cry. She can’t let go that he didn’t sneak in her bedroom to wake her up. Back home in Montreal, he always breaks into her apartment and eases her out of sleep with coffee and kisses.  
Tessa feels like a spoiled child whose parents said no for another toy at the store.

They sit there in silence and it’s so awkward Tessa wants to dig herself into a hole. The sound of the spatula hitting the marble countertop startles her.

« Okay what’s going on here » Scott now looks pissed.

« I feel awkward and I don’t know why » she whines and hides behind a curtain of hair. Thank god for her - and her ego- Scott laughs immediately and leans across the counter. « Should I say something inappropriate about your shorts to get you to relax ?»

She laughs but says yes anyway.

 

  
Scott is apparently more invested in the talk they are about to have than she thought. After breakfast, they take a 20-minute drive to his house by the lake. After a few years in construction, the house is ready and only needs a few renovations inside and the visit of an interior designer. Tessa loves the house. Loves its deck by the lake, the size of the rooms and the terrace with the splendid view.

He takes her hand and guides her to the back of the house, to the newly renovated open porch. “Oh, you kept these!” Tessa squeals in delight when she sees the little lights hanging from the roof. A gift from herself, four years ago, to congratulate him on the house. They sit down on the couch, his only piece of furniture so far, one that she refrains from saying is her favourite model from a design catalogue she showed him a year ago.

And they talk. Like it’s just another random discussion, they talk about each other’s career plans and the shows they want to take part in. There are moments when they don’t say anything - just look at the lake and breathe. They laugh, remembering old stories and the wild things they managed to pull together long ago. Like that time they got arrested for being drunk and a little too loud in the street a little too late. They get emotional -trembling chins and all- talking about the sacrifices their families had to make in order for them to be together those twenty years.

When they finally get to each other, their voices drop low and they whisper. Hands press to each other’s faces when they confess some things for the very first time (“You know why I didn’t see this house for the first time before new year’s eve 2015? I thought for so long that you were planning for a future with _her_. I wanted you to be so happy....but seeing this house, the work that you were putting in when I thought you were doing this for _her_... I couldn’t do it.” Scott launches into the admission of his life: during his first visit, when the house was half a ruin, every single corner made him think of Tessa. How he _saw_ their family living here: the two of them pressed together on a couch in the living room after decorating the Christmas tree. The two of them coming back home from the hospital with the tiniest baby in Tessa’s arms. The two of them baking a complex two tier cake for one of their children’s birthday, one night at 1am, getting buttercream everywhere on the marble countertop and ending up with him proposing to her again between starving kisses because why not.)

They can’t get enough of each other and Scott suspects they never will. 20 years is not long enough, he tells her with a desperate voice. He wants to live life with her, forever even, if she will have him. Tessa closes her eyes shut to stop the flow of tears streaming down her face. It would be a cause of worry for him if she didn’t have the widest smile he has ever seen on her.

“I thought we would have a casual conversation and agree to stay together but man, wow, we’re so hopeless” Scott laughs hysterically and she joins him before sliding her lips to his for a bruising kiss.

Tessa is about to tell him they need to start driving back to London for dinner but Scott needs to say one last thing.

“I’ve been in love with you for about five, six years now but the one moment I knew you were the One was three years ago. Remember? Two months before we went on that show and said we were coming back, you found my psychologist’s card and the appointments behind it.” Tessa nods while he takes a long breath and smiles. “God, I was so embarrassed when you found it. We were doing so well then and I was scared you would see me differently after that. I thought for sure you wouldn’t want to go back to skating with me for some dumb reason, let alone date me.”

His fingers start stroking her cheek. Both of their faces are illuminated by the pink light of the sunset. The only thing they hear are each other’s heartbeats.

“And you. You showed up at the next date on the card and took my hand in the waiting room. I must’ve looked pathetic because I can’t remember saying a word, just looked at you the whole time. And you were smiling and holding my hand so tight I think i didn’t let you go for hours. I don’t think you realize what you did that day. You took me away from all my heavy and dark thoughts by being there when I needed you the most. Everyone around me was avoiding me and my bad temper but you - you stayed. So that moment when you sat down on that chair, took my hand and said sorry for being late because you picked up my favourite donuts at Tim’s, holy shit I just _knew_. You blew me away that day, Tess.”

Scott whispers “thank you’s” for about five solid minutes when Tessa chuckles.

“It’s funny how similar we are in some ways. I finally convinced myself that you were everything i wanted in that waiting room also - the way you sat there like a sad and lost puppy and how your entire face changed when you saw me. I remember thinking that’s what love looks like. And about the card? I was so proud of you when I found it, Scott. Prouder than ever in our lives back then.”

 

-

They manage to walk back to his car an hour later, eager to finally reveal the news to their parents and siblings. No one else is going to know - for now. They will tell their closest friends at Tessa’s birthday party in May. Tessa does have a point, he admits: as much as this moment of their life is theirs only to enjoy, they owe a lot to their families.

A few hours later at his parents’s house, they are a grand total of 11 at the dinner table when Scott starts to apologize for their behaviour in Korea and how he and Tessa wanted to be more than sure before telling anyone. It’s in a deathly silent and emotional atmosphere that they finally admit to their romantic relationship. Tessa cannot event look at anyone’s eyes, lets a few tears flow with her gaze set on their laced fingers resting on her thigh and lets Scott do the talking. He struggles to explain what they have - how they’ve always known they were destined for each other- and describes himself and Tessa as irrevocable soulmates who had to go through painful years before finding each other again. His eyes start to water as well when he catches a sight of his father taking off his glasses to start sobbing in his chair.

“Tessa and I, we have been honest with each other for about two years now. And I know, I know, you would have preferred to know then. But we had to be together alone, without anyone knowing, for it to become what we have now. I was, and am still, seeing someone for a few issues I have. Mostly mental. It’s been three years.”

His mother looks up, horrified. Both sets of brothers reflect the same livid expression on their faces.

“I didn’t want to worry you, mom. Tessa’s been at almost every appointment with me for the past two years. I’m so much better than I was, too. So that’s what we wanted to tell you tonight- and thank you, so freaking much, for putting us in each other’s lives.”

There are tears and muttered prayers and _amens_ from the moms. Tessa has the great idea to show photos of the couple taken these past two years, a solution to catching up on time. Brothers and brothers-in-law share a fond look and all press a little kiss to Tessa’s hair with a proud brotherly instinct.

Tessa and Scott leave dinner hand in hand to his car and drive back to Tessa’s house. They share a last moment of emotional gratitude before falling asleep.

Now they have forever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
